Bear or Barbary? Comparing two stump-tailed macaques
Comparing Two stump-tailed macaques from two sides of the world
The bear macaque, or stump-tailed macaque, is found in subtropical and tropical broadleaf evergreen forests. Their distribution range includes northeastern India and southern China onto the northwestern tip of West Malaysia on the Malay Peninsula. They are also found in Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and far eastern Bangladesh.
Listed as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, bear macaque infants are born white in colour and darken with age.
With thick, long, dark brown fur covering their bodies and short tails which measure less than 10cm, their bright pink or red faces will darken to brown or nearly black as they age.
Male bear macaques have elongated canine teeth compared to females, an important feature to establish dominance within social groups. Much like humans, male and female bear macaques also bald with age.
Bear macaques spend the most part of their days feeding and travelling, with their daily range between two and three kilometres along river banks. They are also not known to swim, which is a common trait of other macaque species. During the rainy season, they do not travel as far due to the abundance of food.
A large part of their diet includes fruits, seeds, flowers, leaves, roots, freshwater crabs, frogs, birds, bird eggs and insects.
There are currently 22 species of macaques in the world and the Barbary macaque is Europe’s only free-living primate.
Native to Algeria and Morocco, it was introduced to Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory on the south coast of Spain, where a current semi-wild population of about 300 live.
They are known as Barbary apes because they have no tail, but in fact they are not apes at all but Old World Monkeys. Barbary also refers to the former name of the Muslim countries of North and North West Africa, together with Moorish Spain.
Large with a silky coat, thick shaggy fur and a dark pink face, Barbary macaques live in troops of as many as 100 members and also go by the name Common macaque or the Rock ape.
Listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the Barbary macaque feeds on leaves, bark, seeds of conifers, sprouts, roots and herbs.
Males are somewhat larger than females in size though they are similar in appearance.
The most distinguishing fact about the Barbary macaque is the role of males in helping to care for the young, grooming and playing with them and sometimes focusing their attention on youngsters that aren’t even their own. On the other hand, females mate with all male members of the troop, so paternity is uncertain.. ag